Today in Cold War History for may 9
1948 – Czechoslovakia’s Ninth-of-May Constitution comes into effect.
1950 – Robert Schuman presents his proposal on the creation of an organized Europe, which according to him was indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations. This proposal, known as the “Schuman declaration”, is considered by some people to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union.
1955 – West Germany joins NATO.
1956- England Frogman Disappears : A British naval diver ( Commander Lionel “Buster” Crabb ) goes missing ( Later Found Dead ) during a Goodwill Visit by a Soviet cruiser carrying Soviet leaders Nikita Khruschev and Marshal Nikolai Bulganin. At the time no one would admit that he was spying on the Russian Cruiser on a spying mission for MI6 and had dived under the cruiser to check out the hull and any other information he could find. And it still remains a mystery on how he died.
1960 – Nigeria becomes a member of British Commonwealth
1962 – A laser beam was successfully bounced off Moon for the first time.
1965 – Luna 5 launched (USSR) 1st attempt to soft land on Moon (fails)
1970 – Vietnam War: In Washington, D.C., 75,000 to 100,000 war protesters demonstrate in front of the White House.
1976- Israel Plane Hijack 9th May 1976 : A Sabena Boeing that was hijacked after leaving Vienna with 90 passengers and 10 crew that had been held hostage for 23 hours at Lod airport in Tel Aviv is stormed by Israeli soldiers disguised as maintenance staff who killed two of the Arab hijackers and released the passengers and crew.
1978 – The bullet-riddled body of former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro was found in an automobile in the center of Rome. The Red Brigades had abducted him.
1979 – Iranian Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian is executed by firing squad in Tehran, prompting the mass exodus of the once 100,000 member strong Jewish community of Iran.
1980 – 35 motorists die as a Liberian freighter rams a Tampa Bay Bridge